Police, community and calendar briefs for April 15, 2014

Police, community and calendar briefs for April 15, 2014 are featured.

POLICE BEAT

Two men report armed robbery

On Sunday, two men reported being robbed Thursday at gunpoint as they got into a truck to drive away from a friend’s home in Citra.

The men said they were visiting a friend in the 2400 block of Northeast 165th Street. As they were leaving, two men approached their pickup and each one pointed a handgun and demanded money. The gunmen reportedly got away with $600, according to Marion County Sheriff’s Office reports.

Both men said they recognized the gunmen and gave deputies the names. Deputies determined the reported gunmen were staying in a camper on the property. The men had not been located as of Monday.

Anyone with information can call the Sheriff’s Office at 732-9111 or Crime Stoppers at 368-STOP.

Man on bicycle reports robbery

A 24-year-old man on a bicycle was reportedly robbed by a man who jumped out of a vehicle early Monday.

The man said he was riding his bike south in the 6400 block of Southwest 60th Avenue just after 1:30 a.m. when a silver or gray SUV stopped near him and the passenger asked for a cigarette. The cyclist agreed to give the passenger a cigarette. The man got out of the SUV and grabbed the cyclist’s backpack and tried to take it, Marion County Sheriff’s Office reports state.

The driver of the vehicle also got out and was brandishing a shiny object, which the cyclist could not identify. The passenger, who was still struggling to get the backpack, punched the cyclist in the stomach. He eventually got the backpack and the cyclist ran, leaving behind his bicycle, reports state.

The cyclist ran to a nearby convenience store and called law enforcement. The backpack contained a cellphone, tablet computer and cash. together valued at $350, according to reports.

Anyone with information can call the Sheriff’s Office at 732-9111 or Crime Stoppers at 368-STOP.

Civil Air Patrol searches for pilot

The Florida Wing of the Civil Air Patrol searched an area of Hernando County near Weekie Wachee on Monday in its continued effort to locate missing pilot Theodore Weiss.

The search began after Weiss failed to arrived in Zephyrhills after taking off from the Dunnellon/Marion County Airport on April 5.

The ground search for Weiss, 74, was suspended Saturday after authorities covered nearly 20-square miles of the dense Withlacoochee State Forest on Friday and Saturday. Several agencies, including the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, have searched for Weiss’ plane to no avail.

Two unidentified emergency locator transmitters, one heard in Monday’s search area, gave searchers hope one of the signals could be coming from Weiss’ small, two-seater Sonex aircraft. Two other signals detected over the weekend were identified and turned off, according to a Civil Air Patrol statement.

The single-engine plane was built from a kit and was white with green and black stripes. Weiss was in Dunnellon attending the Spring Sonex Fest put on by the Florida Sonex Association.

Community

Longwood International Series polo games set

The Longwood International Series will include games between polo teams from the US and Scotland. The schedule includes:

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is gathering information to improve identification of flood prone areas in Marion County’s West Ocala watershed. Residents in the watershed area are invited to an open house at 4 p.m. Wednesday at Marion County Growth Services, 2710 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala.

The information may be used by local governments for land use and zoning decisions, to help manage development in and around floodplains and wetlands, reduce flood risks, preserve land and water resources and for emergency planning. It also will provide information to the public for decisions about purchasing and protecting property.

For more information, call 796-7211, ext. 4297, or visit WaterMatters.org/FloodRisk/.

Last session set for after-shool classes

The last session of spring after-school classes will begin April 21 at the Ocala Civic Theatre, 4337 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala.

The Education Department offers a variety of classes, including:

Ages 4 to 7, Storybook On Stage, Diggin’ On Dinosaurs and Broadway Babies

Ages 8 to 12, Yes, And…, Acting For the Camera and Intro to Theatre Design

For more information, call 236-2274 or visit www.ocalacivictheatre.com,

Ocala to host Earthfest at Arbor Day celebration

The city of Ocala will host Earthfest at Arbor Day in the Great Outdoors from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 26 at Tuscawilla Park.

A children’s fishing derby will take place from 8 a.m. to noon.

Art in the Park will take place at the south end of the park, during which children are invited to create chalk art on the sidewalks.

The event also will include live music, tree give-a-ways and food offerings, archery, Lincoln Logs, tree climbing and an attempt to break the group hula-hooping record.

For more information, call 401-3900 or visit http://www.ocalafl.org/events.aspx.

Booklet for horse management released

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has released “Small Scale Horse Operations: Best Management Practices for Water Resource Protection in Florida,” a 40-page booklet written to educate horse owners about sustainable practices to protect water resources while keeping horses healthy.

The manual is available at http://www.dep.state.fl.us/water/nonpoint/pubs.htm.

Approximately 12,000 copies have been distributed to the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences county extension offices.

The manual outlines structural best management practices, including installing fencing or gutters, and nonstructural, including managing fertilization or grazing. It also provides guidance on water issues such as managing stormwater, managing horse washing, using pesticides, disposing of unused pharmaceuticals and handling animal mortality.

The manual is meant for non-commercial horse owners such as suburban homeowners and small farms.